An ex-banker named Bradley Birkenfeld – who happens to be a convicted tax cheat himself – informed the IRS how his employer helped thousands of rich clients avoid U.S. taxes. As a reward for exposing the fraudulent practices of UBS, the United States government awarded the whistleblower $104 million. His lawyers claim this is the largest payout ever for a qui tam case.
Birkenfeld was recently released from federal prison. In 2008, he admitted his guilt in helping Americans avoid paying federal income taxes and other taxes. As part of his plea, he confessed to helping a businessman evade paying $7.2 million in taxes, and hide $200 million in assets.
The government relies on citizens to come forward and report tax fraud when they discover it. A senator who was responsible for authoring the tax fraud whistleblower laws commented on the case, saying that “the IRS’s work against this kind of tax fraud would not have been possible without the whistleblower.” By paying out an award, the IRS “encourages courageous actions against such big-dollar tax cheating.”
If you know someone who has committed fraud against the government, please contact Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C. today to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation with an experienced whistleblower lawyer.
